(a) Field
The subject matter disclosed generally relates to electrical meter centers. More particularly, the subject matter relates to devices to control access to sections of electric meter centers, access windows and/or doors of electrical meter centers.
(b) Related Prior Art
Electrical equipment such as, without limitation, relays, circuit breakers, electrical meters, transformers, and the like, are typically housed within an enclosure, such as, for example, a housing, enclosure, box or cabinet. Such housing is provided to restrict access to the electrical equipment thereby restricting potential injuries, to resist unauthorized tampering with the electrical equipment, in general, as well as to meet CS and/or UL regulations and/or requirements.
There exists, in the electrical metering technology, commercial electrical meter centers, or electrical meter stacks (or cabinets), for commercial and industrial use, such as, without limitation, shopping centers, industrial buildings, condos, warehouses, oil and gas industries, and the like.
Such electrical meter centers include a plurality of internal sections, such as, without limitation, horizontal bar sections, breaker sections, electric meter sections, cable routing sections, and the like.
For maintenance, security and/or new installation purposes, customers, installers and/or repairmen often need to access only one of these above noted sections. In other circumstances, access is required to a plurality of the above noted sections. Yet still in other circumstances, access is only required to a portion of one of the above noted sections in the electrical meter centers.
A variety of access options to electrical meter centers have been developed. However, these access options are often complex, long, difficult and even dangerous. Better solutions are necessary to enable authorized access to the enclosed electrical equipment relatively quickly in order to install additional stacks, or cabinets, adjacent an initially installed stack, or cabinet. Better solutions are also necessary to reach the horizontal bars section of an initially installed cabinet quickly and easily.
There is therefore a need for improved access options to reach one or more section(s) of electrical meter centers during stacking additional electrical meter center post-initial installation.